Headed to Toronto. Going to dev school.

Apologies for not updating for awhile. It’s been a busy last six months for me debating what skills I want to gain, where I want to work, and what continent I should reside on.

I’ve been accepted into Toronto’s dev bootcamp, Bitmaker Labs, and will be leaving Sydney for Seattle then Toronto in late May. I’ve realized I’ll regret not giving web development a full go since I’ve never been able to help ramp up a product as a non-technical member of a team.

Many of my thoughts the last six months have revolved around my next professional step. This in turn led to me realizing I’ve enjoyed my time working at tech startups before arriving Sydney. Although I’ve never been technical, contributing to the non-tech end has still provided me satisfaction to these teams.

When I look back though, I’ve had many opportunities to learn how to code. From our college startup Weutt I invested 2 years of college for, to working at Retronyms and Grubwithus, I’ve been able to provide marketing, user acquisition, and pitching value, but never anything on the technical side.

Some may say I should stick to my strengths and experiences, which I feel is a valid point, but in today’s technically evolving world, I believe having a base knowledge of how to code is like being able to read and write. It’s tough to understand the feasibility of product ideas, contribute during the development phase, and have empathy for the tough dev work unless you’ve experiencing it with everyone.

My long-term goal may not be to be the best programmer in the world (don’t know yet until I go through the course). I’ve realized I enjoy the project management side of technology, which this course would allow me to do with my non-technical experience in this space.

I’m 24 years old, which is a great age to be. It’s a time where you can invest in yourself and reap the benefits down the line. This is exactly what I plan to do. So if I don’t post between June and August, know that it’s because I’m working hard to gain the skills of a web developer.

A young, business minded entrepreneur with has gained relevant experience on the non-technical end. On top of that, he’s a full stack web developer. That’s what I’m working toward.

If you have any tips or thoughts on becoming a dev, let me know! @drew_sing.